Hello Again

It hasn’t been that long since my last blog post but I missed a few days so thought I’d update. First of all I had a dream on the weekend about dogs then Sunday night I dreamed about cats! Weird. Here’s a link to a great site about symbols of various types: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animals-in-dreams.html Not sure if it means anything or not but there were four dogs in one dream and the cat dream I think had four as well. In each one there was a dog or cat that got ‘sacrificed’-or was going to be. It was kind of strange. The dog dream was in colour but the cat dream was in black and white. I kept finding all these hidden piles of magazines and documents in weird places in the cat dream. I don’t remember much about the dog dream as it was Saturday I had it. I think there was pizza in it though but I didn’t eat any. As I’m writing it it just sounds even weirder than when I was having it! LOL

My portfolio workshop was Monday (I have one every Monday for another month). It was funny because we were supposed to be discussing the value of goals but everyone present disliked them! Only the facilitators felt goals were worthy. The group felt goals were too controlling and didn’t allow for natural outcomes. I also realized I am not one to make goals unless I’m allowing myself to be pressured by someone to do something. Generally I just do things without planning too much in advance. I like to be relaxed enough to change directions even if I only had a vague plan in mind. Perhaps it’s the openness to letting things happen in a more organic way that I appreciate. My ‘to-do’ lists are usually improvised and made up as I go along so I guess even there I’m not terribly focused on only one outcome.

Lest I leave you thinking I’m “too relaxed” I will mention I hate messes and disorganized spaces. My poor dad can’t organize to save himself so we have a few clashes. But I try to maintain a sense of the ‘bigger picture’ so I am not criticizing him. Normally I manage this but every so often he makes really large messes and it drives me up the wall. Still, I am trying to be agreeable. Anyone have the problem of living with other people and finding you’re the only one concerned with cleaning and organization? Do you have any arrangements to deal with it?

A Cute Little Bunny With Some Eggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tuesday I had my counselling appointment which went well. So far I don’t feel like we’ve accomplished much but I appreciate having someone who will listen to me and offer helpful information. So it’s alright. Then I went looking for an Easterplush toy for my niece afterward. It proved harder than I’d expected. There were not as many Easter bunny plush toys as I’d hoped to find so selection was not great. After several hours of walking around the mall I finally found a flamingo with bunny ears that was very cute and bought her that. I also got her a sketch pad and coloured pencils. Hopefully she’ll like it. I don’t see her as often as I should so am not always current with what she’s ‘into’ or likes. She’s only seven but I don’t want to just buy whatever most 7 year old’s like. I considered buying her a Barbie but the store I was in only had a few and I wasn’t sure if she had them already or not. So in the end I bought her the artist’s sketch pad and coloured pencils with pencil sharpener (it was a set) and the small pink flamingo with rabbit ears.

Blogging my thoughts and feelings about mostly mental health, meditation and spirituality(non religious). Hoping to connect with other interesting people in the blogosphere.
*The name is Russian and is my pseudonym.

9 thoughts on “Hello Again”

Ha ha ha ha do I live with someone who isn’t particularly concerned with organization? That’s putting it mildly. My solution is that he lets me keep things tidy, or I get extra stabby. 😛

Seriously, though, we basically divide the apartment into two halves, and he’s not allowed to mess with my serene, decluttered, exquisitely organized OCD/Zen half. I AM allowed to mess with his half (since I do most of the housework), but I’m careful to put things where he can find them easily, and it’s okay if his closet is a little messy. Then every night after dinner we have Special Project time, in which I select a small box or bin or something for him to go through, spread it out on the bed, and he can get rid of some clutter.

This actually works really well, as it only takes him a few minutes each day, but we do slowly make progress. I do the same thing for myself on a regular basis – just try to look through something I haven’t been through in a while, and clean it out. That way things don’t get backed up.

I’m glad you finally found a toy for your niece, but I’m having trouble picturing a flamingo with bunny ears. Who thinks this stuff up? Does sound cute tho. 🙂

Oh, and btw, liking to keep your options open is totally an INFP thing. My mom is like that too. No biggie! Be who you are!

Your solution sounds reasonable. I don’t think it would work with my dad though. Our relationship is different. The “child” isn’t supposed to dictate to the parent how things should be done; even if I am right it would likely annoy him. He doesn’t like being reminded of his messiness. Thus I have to be diplomatic. I tidy up when he isn’t around because I can get things done faster that way.

I know the feeling, believe me. I think when you live with someone like that, there are only two solutions: becoming more assertive and insisting on more tidiness because it’s your home too, or identifying areas of the house that you can control because the other person doesn’t go in there much. You can create a sort of oasis for yourself there.

I suppose I employ a little of both in my own home. Fortunately my boyfriend is quite pleasant and compliant about it, which does make it easier.

Thanks Jenny. I tried the assertiveness thing this morning and it was sort of uncomfortable but I guess we both survived the experience! It takes a bit getting used to changes like that. He’s not used to me being assertive and I’m used to bottling my emotions. So I’ll keep working on the assertiveness and maybe he’ll get used to it.